After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

Director Liu's teacup was suspended in mid-air, unable to be put down or held steadily.

"Go back and go through the process again"—these five words shattered a hole in the conference room.

The refund means that the 10 billion yuan announced at the expo in front of provincial leaders and national media has been quietly withdrawn. It means that Su Qingwan's follow-up reports will stir up a media storm. It means that the province's industrial policies have not yet taken hold, but have already been torn apart by the issue of funding.

Director Liu can't afford to take on this responsibility.

He slowly placed the teacup back on the table, cleared his throat, and changed his angle.

"Director Chen, you've misunderstood. We don't mean to refund the money; we just want to follow the standard accounting procedures."

"Director Liu".

Chen Ping cut off his sentence, not repeating it, but keeping it clean.

"We have the ledger."

He picked up the agreement on the table, turned to page four, pushed it in front of Director Liu, and stopped his finger on that line of text.

"The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund has established an independent fund account for this project, with a complete three-level audit mechanism, and the fund usage information is connected to the Ministry of Finance's data system in real time."

He pushed the agreement an inch closer to Director Liu.

"Director Liu, the ledger you're requesting now involves one more procedure than is stipulated in this agreement."

Director Liu glanced at the words, his expression becoming complex, and he remained silent for a moment.

Chen Ping closed the agreement, stood up from his chair, and picked up his phone.

"Then let's do as you say. I'll call Governor Zhou now to report the situation and ask him to make the decision."

Director Liu wanted to say "no need," but before the words could even form in his mouth, Chen Pingfang had already dialed the number and put it on speakerphone.

The beeping sounded twice.

"Lie it flat, what's wrong?"

Governor Zhou's voice came through the loudspeaker and clearly filled the entire conference room.

Chen Ping placed his phone on the table and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Governor Zhou, Director Liu of the Finance Department came today because he is very concerned about the special funds from the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund. He is worried about the safety of the funds and suggested that the funds be temporarily withheld and instead be transferred through the provincial-level special account system."

He paused for a moment before adding the last sentence.

"I would like to ask Governor Zhou for instructions on how to handle this money."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the conference room froze.

The two section chiefs next to Director Liu lowered their heads at the same time, and neither of them said a word.

There was a full three seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Governor Zhou's voice came in again, and its weight was completely different from before.

"Is Director Liu here?"

Director Liu straightened up and sat up straight.

"Yes, Governor Zhou."

"Director Liu, that's the country's money, not the province's meat."

Governor Zhou's words were delivered firmly, each one carrying weight.

"Special funds from the central government have their own management system. The responsibility of the province is to cooperate, not to intercept or obstruct them."

"Don't ask for that money again."

"Yes, yes, Governor, I understand."

Director Liu squeezed out those words, making himself look half a head shorter.

Governor Zhou didn't say anything more. "Place it flat, and you can handle the rest."

The phone was disconnected.

The meeting room fell silent again, but this silence was different from before; before, it felt oppressive, but now it felt empty.

Director Liu sat in the chair for a few seconds, put away the folder, and nodded to the two section chiefs next to him.

"Walk."

He stood up and walked towards the door. As he passed Chen Pingfang, he paused for a moment without turning around.

"Director Chen, we'll go back and discuss the procedural matters further."

Chen Ping didn't move, still holding the agreement in his hand.

"No need to trouble yourself, Director Liu."

Director Liu went out the door, and the young man whom Zhang Chao recognized followed behind. Just as he crossed the threshold, he paused, glanced back at Chen Pingfang, said nothing, and followed.

The meeting room door closed.

Zhang Chao let out a breath and put his phone back in his pocket.

"Director, I've already sent the photo of Xiao Lu to General Manager Jiang for verification."

"understood."

Chen Ping put the agreement back in the file box, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a sip. That glass of water hadn't been touched since Director Liu entered the room, and it was now completely cold.

He put down his cup, took out a pen, and wrote a few words in his notebook: Management Committee, Big Fund, Third-Party Audit, Independent Account, Real-Time Data Connection with the Ministry of Finance.

This framework was started before the expo, and today we finally drove in the last stake.

The funding issue was thus resolved.

---

Just before 3 p.m., Jiang Fan pushed open the door and came in, looking somewhat uneasy. He placed a file folder on Chen Ping's desk without beating around the bush.

"Director, you need to take a look at this."

Chen Ping opened the file bag and took out the materials inside.

There are four pages in total, each page containing a list with accompanying notes.

At the top of the first page are the four English letters ~HHRS, which is one of the top three executive search firms in the world. Its headquarters are in Zurich, and its legal entity in China is registered in Shanghai.

The list contained seven names.

These seven people are all core technical backbones of Corefire.

The person in charge of the laser source system of the Light Chaser-1 is listed second.

The person in charge of the EUV cavity structure design is listed as the fourth person in line.

The power conversion efficiency modeling team, including all three key researchers, is on the last page.

Next to each name is a note that describes the contact method and initial conditions.

There is only one condition: the annual salary is ten times the current salary, plus stock options, overseas work visa will be provided, and family relocation allowance will be negotiated separately.

Jiang Fan stood by the table and lowered his voice.

"The message came from an intermediary last night, saying that these people have been contacted privately in the past two weeks, and two of them are already under consideration."

Chen Ping turned the last page, closed the file folder, and placed his hand on it without moving.

Ten times the annual salary, overseas resettlement, family members to be discussed separately.

This plan wasn't just made up randomly; it was designed specifically for people.

Zhao Xilai fell, Zhao Bo was taken away, Huajing Technology's supply chain was cut off, and all the direct suppression failed, so they changed their approach - directly poaching people and pulling the technical backbone of Zhuguang No. 1 out of Xinhuo.

Without people, the project falls apart even faster than if funding runs out.

Chen Ping pushed the file bag aside and looked up at Jiang Fan.

Where are those seven people now?

"The simulation test just ended at 2 PM, and I'm still in the lab."

"Call them in, all at once, not one by one."

Jiang Fan took two steps outside, and Chen Ping spoke again.

"Also, find out who leaked this list and what the middleman's background is."

Jiang Fan responded and went out the door.

Chen Ping lowered his head, reopened the file bag, spread the four-page list on the table one by one, and went through it again from beginning to end.

The order HHRS took on is unlikely to be a matter of ordinary business competition. Judging from the outline of the Zhao Xilai case, this line of events is most likely still being pulled by the same hand.

If they can't steal openly, they'll dig secretly.

Some people haven't given up yet.

He folded the four lists again, put them in the file folder, looked up, and gave a cold laugh.

"It seems some people haven't given up yet."

In the corridor, seven pairs of footsteps were already approaching.